New ZR1 Owner

[jrtoffroad]

Hey guys, just wanted to introduce myself. I purchased DMark's 91 ZR1 last week and absolutely love the car.

Ran to the track (Alabama International Raceway) Friday night and very happy with the car's performance...just not so much the driver's. Really struggled to get a good launch. Best time was a 12.6 @ 113mph, which actually was my first run of the night before any prep. After letting the engine cool a little my MPH jumped to ~116, but times suffered (~12.85) due to excess wheel spin. Oh well, just need more practice.

Couple maintenance questions:
-Noticed a small oil leak on the front of the engine, any suggestions on where to start tracking it down?
-It seems after driving the car hard it likes to idle a little higher (950 vs. 650) any one familiar with this? I was getting a little surge at idle, and found a bad vac line to the MAP sensor which seems to have cured that problem
-What's the consensus on the best plugs & gap for this engine (mildly modified)?
-And finally I see most people seem to really like the 10w-60 castrol oil for the trans...but since the stock oil was a 5w-30 weight, would it be a bad choice to run a more readily available engine oil closer to the stock weight? Guess I'd at least like to know what makes the Castrol so popular for this trans.

THANKS!
Jordan

[PhillipsLT5]

welcome, 12.6 is very good, launch is difficult, what was your 60 ft time? you got a nice car at a great price, stay with castrol, change it every 10k, high idle may be vac. leak

[jrtoffroad]

On that first run was 2.066, but went downhill after that (2.1 - 2.2).

[carter200]

Welcome and stay with Castrol.

[XfireZ51]

Welcome and check the connection at the PCV F hose back of the plenum. It may be loose enough to allow extra air especially warmed up.
Stick with Castrol and try the NGK BKR6E plugs gapped at .035". Slightly colder than stock.

[tomtom72]

Hi and welcome to the brotherhood!

Nice car!

Stick with the Castrol oil for the trans. See zfdoc.com for the skinny on the load vs mileage vs lubricity break down test results. The GM or equivalent 5w-30 oils cause the blocker rings to wear quicker past 10k mile change intervals.
http://zfdoc.com/faq.htm this is the test results.

Check out the site as the FAQ's are good tech info also!


Tom

[Aurora40]

Originally Posted by jrtoffroad

-And finally I see most people seem to really like the 10w-60 castrol oil for the trans...but since the stock oil was a 5w-30 weight, would it be a bad choice to run a more readily available engine oil closer to the stock weight? Guess I'd at least like to know what makes the Castrol so popular for this trans.

It's true the trans came with 5w-30 engine oil. But a specific one, not just any 5w-30. I believe Texaco made it? Whoever it was, they stopped making it in around 2000, so GM switched to something else. It's rumored that something else is Pennzoil Synchromesh.

People use Castrol TWS because it is recommended by people they trust. I believe ZF has also recommended it?

[PhillipsLT5]

2.066, 60 ft is awesome, 2.1 is great with street tires, what tires on car?
every 10th at 60 ft is a 1.5 at 1/4 mile

[jrtoffroad]

Thanks for the welcomes and the input!

The only real problem with the car is all the miles I'm putting on it...it's hard to talk myself into driving the jeep when the ZR1 is sitting in the garage.

The tires are Goodyear F1 GS-D3's. They handle very well and have amazing wet weather traction, but once you break them loose it's very easy to keep them spinning. I'd be pretty happy if I could consistently hit the 2.0's...and even happier with a 1.9

Here's my last race of the night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZyc2n8arX0

[GrayZ]

Welcome and nice buy on a great car, from a good dooood.

You should plan on coming to Bowling Green,Ky. gathering in may of this next year, you will learn more about you're car in a weekend than 6 months on you're own.